i am new to this site. i currently have an 06 wakesetter vlx running around 4000lb of ballast. i have heard alot of good things about the mastercraft x25 and am looking at buying one that is in stock at the local dealer with the 6l engine. i just have a few questions. how does this boat handle ballast i.e what is the wake going to be like with 4000lb? and does anyone have any pics they can upload of an x25 wake with alot of ballast? i have been searching the net for days and can only find wakesurfing pics and vids other than the mastercraft adds. An in boat shot of the wake should give me an indication. i havent test driven one yet though i am assuming the dealers would be hesitant of letting you slam their brand new boats with a heap of ballast. also would the 6l be enough with this sort of weight? i'm assuming the attitude plate should help it out a bit?

One thing you might want to consider is what your goals are (boarding, surfing, etc), what kind of water you are in, and different layouts. I love the x25 too but the x30 is a great boat too. I'm sure the x25 experts will be by soon about the ballast.

I don't have pics for you, but certainly according to all the very good wake boarding guys (wake snobs) I know, you do not need 4000lbs of ballast on an X25. Most people can't believe the wake with no ballast and typically stock ballast is as much as most people would ever want or need. This is one of the benefits of this boat. (Stock Ballast and you are ready to rock it) Extra ballast is typically added for surfing when sans people on the 25.

As far as the 6.0, there is a post here debating it, basically plenty of power for the boat, 6.2 is really nice for better gas consumption, but certainly at a debatable value for the up-charge difference. Demo the boat, I think you will be shocked at the wake with stock!

Best I could do on short notice. This was with no ballast, three people onboard, 22mph. I will try to find better ones when I have time. One thing I can say, is that you will have a better wakeboard wake in a X25 with stock ballast than the wake in a slammed VLX.

Obviously, less than optimal water conditions in this pic.... I had a ton of pics on the camara that ended up at the bottom of the lake on labor day weekend

That wake does look impressive for no ballast. i would still like to see pics of what it can do slammed though. as the reason we are upgrading is for the hunger for a biger wake. not that we need it (as harf done a 1260 behind my hull vlx and i will never get to that level) though i just like the feeling of getting punted by a big wake. we have maxed out my vlx. it gets to be a pain to drive with any more weight. so i'm just wondering if the x25 is the silent achiever i am looking for or if i should bite the bullet and get an x star. i'm not really keen on the upgrading of the tow vehicle is one of the big reasons i dont want an x star. as a mate and i are in partnership on the boats we buy and neither of us have a car capable of towing the x star legally at this point. plus the price difference is another deterent. thanks again in advance for any help.

Thing is, nobody, at any level, seems to want more than stock ballast for wakeboarding behind the X25.

I have two friends that are seriously good wakeboarders, and they have never asked for more. I do wonder what it would be like though. If my boat was set up to add weight evenly, i probably would have tried it. However my additional ballast is all on the port side for surfing. (It is all plumbed in, so it is not easy to move around.....)

It is not just that the wake is big.... it has serious kick.

The IWWF world cup was pulled by an X25.... They said it was an X-Star, but it was not. Judging by the wake size, I wouldnt think there was much weight in the boat, however, it is sunk in pretty good when it is stopped. I think they must have 2-3k on. Nonetheless, the wake was plenty good for these pros.... Harley@7:15.

Seems like I remember sombody saying that the pros requested a X25 for this tourny, but that may not have been the case. Although, I couldnt see them passing up the Xstar to tow it, unless there was a reason. I highly doubt the X25 has a better pro wake than the 2nd gen Xstar with 3k onboard though.... They must have just wanted to try something different.